Tesla Weaker As It Tackles Software Update Issue In China

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock was down by more than 1% in Monday’s premarket trading after the company was forced to roll out a safety fix for nearly 300,00 vehicles in China, in another setback for its image in the country.

The fix, which the country’s State Administration for Market Regulation is calling a ‘recall,’ covers 249,855 Model 3 sedans and Model Y compact crossover vehicles manufactured by Tesla’s Shanghai plant, as well as 35,665 imported Model 3 cars, according to the market regulator.

The recall of the U.S. company’s automobiles came after an investigation into possible defects, which found that the cruise-control system could be accidentally activated and potentially result in an unexpected speed increase, according to a WSJ report.

As per the report, Tesla has asked its customers to upgrade their cruise-control software remotely and doesn’t require going to the dealer.

China is the world’s largest market for EVs and Tesla’s largest outside the U.S. It’s important for Tesla not just because of its market size but also because it acts as a large source of parts and raw materials that go into its vehicles and batteries.

Tesla has had to fight at various ends in China over the last few months, from customer and regulatory complaints over brake issues in its cars to security concerns over the cameras in its vehicles to rising competition from the likes of local carmakers like Geely, Nio (NYSE:NIO) and Xpeng.